MARYSVILLE — As he neared his own retirement as pastor of the Marysville United Methodist Church, Dr. Tom Albright repeated a refrain to the nine Marysville students that he's told several graduating seniors this year.

"You're approaching not only your graduation, but your commencement," Albright told the nine recipients of scholarships from Soroptimist International of Marysville and the Marysville Kiwanis Club on June 7. "This is not an ending, but a beginning."

Albright urged the students not to let their education be reduced to mere job training, and to be conscious of how seemingly minor decisions can yield significant results for the rest of their lives.

Foy Cordner dispensed the Soroptimist Gift of $1,500 to Marysville-Pilchuck High School Naval Junior ROTC Cadet Lt. j.g. Jasmine Iglesias, who plans to major in business administration at Washington State University. The Career and Technical Education Award of $1,500 went to Nancy Olivarez of Marysville Mountain View High School, whom presenter Maryanne Pauley praised for pursuing non-traditional career fields for women, while also balancing the responsibilities of her studies and single motherhood.

M-PHS counselor Scott Stokes followed by handing out scholarships of $1,500 each to M-PHS Valedictorian Kyla Yorkoski, Salutatorian Nina Tran and student Jewel Le Valley, whose GPAs are 4.0, 3.99 and 3.99, respectively. Le Valley's ACT score puts her in the top 3 percent of all students in the nation and she plans on attending WSU. Tran will be attending the University of Washington with the ultimate goal of opening her own dance studio. Yorkoski enters Western Washington University after attending four years of "the most rigorous curriculum available to her," according to Stokes, all while helping her single mother care for her two younger brothers.

Career counselor David Carpenter presented scholarships of $1,000 to Sam Josephson and $500 to Thomas Esser. Both will be heading off to UW, with Josephson aiming for a career as a medical anesthesiologist, while Esser will be entering college as a junior.

The final three scholarships went to Marysville Getchell High School students Meghan O'Brien and Lubna Khalfe, who received $1,500 each, and Chandler Forsythe, whose title of "Student of the Year" was accompanied by a $2,000 award. O'Brien hopes that studying psychology at Central Washington University will lead to a career in counseling veterans who are suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder, while Khalfe expects to transfer from Everett Community College into WWU or UW to study mathematics. Just as Khalfe was commended for her work as a student mentor, so too was Forsythe singled out for volunteering more than 100 hours at the Providence Regional Medical Center in Everett, and also earning the title of "Bio-Med Academy Girl of the Year."

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